This application is a co-pending application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/912,850, entitled xe2x80x9cELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH IMPROVED BOARD LOCKSxe2x80x9d, filed on Jul. 24, 2001 by Jerry Wu and assigned to the same assignee of the present application. The disclosure of the co-pending application are wholly incorporated herewith by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a board lock device for use in an electrical connector, and particularly to such a board lock device whose height is adjustable so that it can be used in electrical connectors having different heights.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors employing grounded board lock devices are widely used in computer industry, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,146 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/912,850. Referring to FIG. 16 of the present application, a board lock device 8 disclosed in the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/912,850 is shown, which is single piece, and used for attaching an electrical connector to an underlying circuit board. The board lock device 8 is stamped and formed from a metal plate, and is integrally formed with a retaining portion 82 retained in an insulative housing of the electrical connector, a grounding beam 84 extending horizontally from one end of the retaining portion 82 for mating with a complementary connector to establish a grounding route, and a board lock vertically extending from the other end of the retaining portion 82 to latch in the underlying circuit board. The board lock device 8 can only be used in the electrical connector having a predetermined height. Thus, different heights of the board lock devices must be manufactured to meet the demand of the electrical connectors having different heights. To provide different board lock devices having different heights is costly in manufacturing and inventory management.
Hence, an improved board lock device used for an electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a board lock device used for electrical connectors having different types or heights.
A board lock device in accordance with the present invention is useable for one type of electrical connectors having different heights. The board lock device has a first member and a second member separate from and engageable with the first member. The first member has a retaining portion, a resilient beam extending from one end of the retaining portion for mating with a grounding member of a complementary connector, and a contact portion extending from another end of the retaining portion. The second member has a body portion for conductively contacting with the contact portion of the first member and a pair of legs depending from the body portion for attaching the electrical connector to a circuit board.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.